The Culture of Global Missions

Over the years of working on my doctoral degree, I had the privilege of discussing the prioritization of frontier missions with pastors and missionaries. My research showed that pastors believe the church should do more to reach the unreached but for the most part, they were not sure about how to make that happen. If the missionaries were engaged in what I refer to as regular missions (established mission work in what would be considered “reached” areas of the world) there was an understandable nervousness and discomfort with the word “prioritization.”

As a pastor whose church supports a large number of missionaries engaged in “regular missions,” I understand the response of both pastors and missionaries to the idea that more needs to be done to reach frontier peoples. The whole world is in a season of uncertainty and disruption, why add more by questioning the established missions practice and vision? Perhaps I can answer that question by addressing two issues that are vital to understand in today’s global missions landscape.

1. CULTURE

Attend any leadership class or conference and you are certain to hear the issue of culture addressed. In recent years, leaders have embraced the idea that the culture of an organization impacts its effectiveness far more than vision or strategy. But what exactly is culture and is it something that should apply to global missions?

Although culture can be difficult to define, it is generally thought of “the way we do things in our organization.” But it is also critical to understand that certain core values and principles determine “the way we do things.” Leaders, then, are tasked with making sure that everyone in the organization not only embraces the culture but is actually wiling to “be” the culture, living out the values they espouse. This means….

• Leaders must intentionally shape the culture of an organization and…

• Culture is never “set it and forget it.” Leaders must work to maintain the cultural environment around the organization.

Many leaders, including pastors, have found success in intentionally shaping and maintaining an attractive culture in their organization. While this process seems to be having a great impact on churches, how does it apply to the cause of global missions?

In order to answer that question, we need to look at which values and principles would most effectively create an impactful missions culture. To accomplish this, we need to go to the scriptural record of the man who was potentially the greatest evangelist in the Bible: the Apostle Paul. If you and I were to walk along with Paul on his three missionary journeys, what kind of culture would we encounter?

2. APOSTOLIC ETHOS

Missiologist Alan Johnson, PhD, gives us insight into what he refers to as the “apostolic ethos,” or the culture and mindset of the Apostle Paul as defined in Scripture. In simple terms, he sees apostolic culture as “how the apostles both conceived their task and what they actually did.” (p. 52) Alan presents these characteristics of Paul’s ministry that he believes create the lens through which all missionaries should view their role:

• Paul led apostolic teams who, guided by the Spirit, engaged in cross-cultural missions in areas of the world yet reached with the Gospel.

• These teams experienced suffering, and yet signs and wonders accompanied their ministries.

• They prioritized care for the poor and the marginalized of society.

Embracing this culture would certainly be helpful to those who are called into frontier missions work. But what about those involved in regular missions? Some zealots in the frontier missions movement have advocated in the past that all resources should be allocated to the unreached parts of the world, including missionaries engaged in established works in other regions. I argue that this would be counterproductive and unhelpful. Why take a missionary who has discovered the “key” that unlocks the hearts of the people in an area and move them into a completely unfamiliar place?

What could potentially make a notable difference would be for all missionaries to embrace the apostolic culture and begin to infuse it into their existing ministry. Let me give you a few examples.

• Several years ago while on a vision trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, I had a conversation with the pastor of Addis Bible Church. He relayed to me that because of the cultural similarities between Ethiopia and Middle-eastern Arabic nations, they were poised to reach their Muslim neighbors with the gospel. The work in Addis would have been considered a regular missions endeavor, but they were infected with apostolic culture, desiring to reach the unreached nearby.

• A couple from our church who have served in a South American nation for more than 25 years was asked by their denomination to lead a missions school. They were surprised by the passion for missions they discovered among the national believers in their area. On their last visit home, they reported several graduates who are now conducting cross-cultural missions work, some in the hardest ares of the world to reach with the gospel.

The idea of infusing every missions endeavor with apostolic culture is the answer for those who fear that missionaries engaged in regular missions will be left behind, cut from budgets, or pressured into moving to more “unreached” fields. This kind of overreaction is not necessary nor profitable. From a global perspective, how much more effective could those engaged in regular missions be by continuing to be fruitful in their field of service, but beginning to inject all they do with apostolic culture? This integrated approach to missions could transform our future missions endeavors making them more effective and efficient in building God’s work around the world.

Till all hear,

Murphy Matheny